Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser has said that Police Scotland “must be answerable and accountable for their actions” and has questioned their treatment of him in terms of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act.
The politician spoke during a Motion brought to the Chamber by the Scottish Conservative Party calling on MSPs to consider repealing the Act, which ironically came into force on April Fools’ Day.
Mr Fraser only learnt that a trans activist had reported a Tweet from him in November last year, in which he criticised Scottish Government policy on gender policy from the Ethical Standards Commissioner, who threw out the complaint but confirmed it had been recorded by Police Scotland as a Non-Crime Hate Incident.
Speaking during the debate at the Scottish Parliament, Mr Fraser said: “Having taken legal advice with the support of the Free Speech Union, it is my view that the recording of these Non-Crime Hate Incidents is unlawful in a number of respects, particularly in breach of Articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
“It is significant that the police in England and Wales had to change their policy on the recording of Non-Crime Hate Incidents based entirely on the perception of the complainer, following the judgement of the Court of Appeal in the case of R (on the application of Miller) versus the College of Policing. For reasons best known to themselves, Police Scotland did not change their policy at that point, and I believe that they will now have to do so.
“The matter was made much worse when I discovered that numerous complaints made against both First Minister Humza Yousaf and the writer JK Rowling two weeks ago as hate crimes were not recorded as Non-Crime Hate Incidents, in a clear breach of stated Police Scotland policy.”
Mr Fraser continued: “I would sincerely hope this is not an example of political bias on the part of Police Scotland, but in the absence of any credible alternative explanation that suspicion must remain.
“I have written to the Deputy Chief Constable at Police Scotland this week seeking an urgent meeting to discuss these matters and have also been in correspondence with the Chair of the Scottish Police Authority. It cannot be acceptable that the police are treating opposition politicians differently from the way they are treating members of the SNP Government, and it is simply deplorable that they think they can avoid providing an explanation for their actions.
“In any liberal democracy, we have a principal that must be applied of policing by consent. That means the police must be answerable for and accountable for their actions.”
And Mr Fraser called on opposition MSPs who previously voted for the Act to now consider its repeal.
“It is not just the Scottish Conservatives who are calling for this Act to be repealed,” he added during the Parliamentary debate.
“That may be the case in this chamber, but in wider Scottish society our call is one which has extensive backing. And I know that both Labour and the Liberal Democrats voted for this Act in 2020, but I would say to them that there is no shame in now accepting that that decision was a mistake, and in the light of the experience, and in particularly the shambolic fashion in which this Act has been introduced and the pressure it is putting upon an already hard-pressed police force, in reconsidering that decision, and joining us in backing its repeal.”
